Sorry for the lateness of the gameday preview.
The Toronto Raptors righted a recent slide with wins over the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors, and they’ll continue their road trip against the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings are no slouch, and they’ve been on something of a hot streak over the last few months. Since the start of February, the Kings are 10-5, with wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat. They have figured out their rotations, with Bogdan Bogdanovic starting and Buddy Hield coming off the bench. The move seems strange, but it actually balances Sacramento’s roster quite well, offering more ball-handling and passing chops to the starters and more shooting and scoring to the bench. Richaun Holmes’s return gives Sacramento the all-important hard-working and high-efficiency big that gives the stars a wider margin for error. The Kings seem to have stabilized as a slightly above-.500 team, and they’ll challenge anyone, even good teams on an off night.
The Raptors, on the other hand, should be fine. They rarely have off nights. And their scorers are well matched to throttle the Kings. The last time Toronto played the Kings, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Serge Ibaka all scored easily, combining for 62 points on only 39 shots. The Kings don’t really have a gigantic wing who can contain Toronto’s paint scorers, either as help or off the switch, so expect Toronto to put up a boatload of points. It’ll be a fun one regardless.
GAME INFO
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT / TV: SN1 / Radio: 1050
RAPTORS UPDATES
Fred VanVleet (shoulder), and Marc Gasol (hamstring) are both questionable, which is an upgrade. They will likely be game-time decisions. Dewan Hernandez (ankle) is out, and Oshae Brissett and Paul Watson are both with the Raptors 905.
PG: Kyle Lowry, Pat McCaw
SG: Norman Powell, Terence Davis, Matt Thomas
SF: OG Anunoby, Malcolm Miller, Stanley Johnson
PF: Pascal Siakam, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
C: Serge Ibaka, Chris Boucher
Kings UPDATES
The team hasn’t submitted its injury report yet, but Marvin Bagley III is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Otherwise, expect the team to likely be healthy. With Holmes back in action for the first time in weeks last night, expect him to likely be back in the starting lineup tonight. Or he’ll sit. We don’t know yet.
PG: De’Aaron Fox, Cory Joseph, Yogi Ferrell
SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield
SF: Harrison Barnes, Kent Bazemore, Justin James
PF: Nemanja Bjelica, Jabari Parker
C: Richaun Holmes, Harry Giles, Alex Len
THE LINE
Toronto is -6, which is quite low if VanVleet and Gasol actually play. Keep an eye on the line after their availability is eventually announced. The over-under is 226.5
